Mile High Club

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The Mile High Club (or MHC) is a slang term collectively applied to individuals who have engaged in sexual activity while on board an aircraft. There is no known formally constituted club so named. The name originates from the fact that most commercial aviation cruises at an altitude of one mile or higher. However, since 'membership' of the 'club' is really a matter of an individual asserting they have qualified, the qualifications for membership are open to some interpretation.

Some people attribute the allure of the club to the lower atmospheric pressure in the flight cabin, which they claim increases the intensity of orgasms. Others say they have fantasies about pilots or flight attendants, or a fetish about planes themselves. For many others, perhaps the majority, the appeal of joining the MHC is the thrill of doing something taboo and the chance that they might be discovered.

The first and founding member of the MHC is generally considered to be Lawrence Sperry, inventor of the autopilot. In November of 1916 he reportedly was engaged in sexual activity with a woman while he was flying in his Curtiss flying boat over Babylon, New York, when they crashed (non-fatally) into the water. His status as founder of the club is a retrospective honor derived from the fact that he is the first person reported to have engaged in aerial sexual activity, and from his association with the development of the autopilot at Sperry Corporation. It is not a literal honor since they crashed from an altitude of only 500 feet, and also because the term "Mile High Club" was not in use at the time. Conversely, sexual activity on the ground at elevations of 5,280 feet or greater, does not qualify one for the club, under most interpretations of the rules.

The NTSB has ruled that at least one accident was caused by a pilot engaging in sexual activity while piloting a small plane.^[1]

For those seeking a safer way to join the club, numerous private charter companies offer the opportunity to book a flight for the express purpose of engaging in sexual activity. Some commercial enterprises cash in on people's interest in joining the club by offering special charter flights designed for the purpose^[2] or by selling souvenir certificates and other items.^[3] Some web sites also provide resources such as historical information about the club.^[3]

Some incidents of people attempting sexual activity on planes become popularly known: in late 2006, a couple was arrested in part for refusing to stop overt sexual activity on a flight in a case that received widespread media attention^[4]. The couple's lawyer claims that the couple was not engaging in sexual activity, but that the man was sick and resting his head on the woman's lap.

A solo division of the Mile High Club can be said to exist on precisely the same unconstituted informal basis as the Mile High Club itself. Membership is by self-certification.

[edit] References

1. ^ MIA92FA051 NTSB Report. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
2. ^ Kitty Bean Yancy. "A flight that goes all the way", 8 September 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
3. ^ ^{a b} Mile High Club. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
4. ^ CNN News Article.